Since this series is based on a series of novels, viewers aren't as vulnerable to HBO arbitrarily pulling the plug and leaving fans hanging, as they did with Deadwood. Each season presumably ends with all storylines tidied up, not abandoned. Even if they do leave cliffhangers, you can always seek out the novels if the fuckers at HBO cancel on you.

Not to start a debate, but I consider Deadwood to be a better series on almost every level, incidentally. That's not a knock on GoT, it is undeniably excellent. Deadwood, however, had the best ensemble cast I've ever seen, powerful and imaginative writing, and superb production values. Then the assholes killed Season 4 and kept... Entourage!

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Fair enough. Personally, while I enjoyed Deadwood, I found it a bit heavy on the flowery language, which was tough to decipher at the same time as following the story. And it was very much a talkfest from what I can remember, which, when I'm trying to follow so many plotlines, I find a bit of a chore. But that's just how my mind works - I prefer complex systems to be explained to me visually or in written form. Or at least greatly aided by it. (There's plenty of talking in GoT too, but there are far more visual cues.)

But then, my brother-in-law lectures in film and television, although he's very much a film-man - he basically doesn't watch TV dramas. Deadwood though is an exception to the rule - he loves it. Perhaps I need to rewatch Deadwood.

But yeah, I think Game of Thrones will have a much wider audience, and one that doesn't need to live in fear of cancellation so much, because as you say, there's always the books. And of course, with GoT being a fantasy, we only really know about its world from what we are shown and told. So it doesn't really matter so much where you come from and what you know of history. Deadwood is set in a specific place at a specific time which exists in the real world, so some people will have a greater connection to it, and will be able to relate to it better than others.

Oh............well, I guess it doesn't rank too high on some of your lists, but I really, really like it. Guess it helps if you're really into fantasy type storytelling based around kings and queens, knights and swords and castles and dragons. If it's done well, this kind of stuff really grabs me, and this is done very, very well.

I think GoT is really great, even coming from someone who thought LoTR was 'ok' rather than amazing, but I also think that Deadwood/The Wire were better.

They're different though, of course, the fantasy setting of GoT means that the dialogue and interaction between people that IMO makes those other shows so fantastic is going to be necessarily of a slightly different quality.

Deadwood/The Wire may have ended early, but the best shows usually do. The last season of The Wire was definitely the weakest in terms of plotline too. With Deadwood I just miss the wisdom of Al Swearengen!

Pain or damage dont end the world, or despair, or fuckin beatings. The world ends when youre dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man and give some back.

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Each show has its smart-arse character that I usually find pretty hilarious - Tyrion Lannister being GoT's representative.

Wilf789, out of all of the fucking prose that flowed from the fucking pens of the cocksuckers who fucking authored the dramas that fucked with my fucking head and stole my fucking soul, that recitation of the fucking wisdom of the cocksucker Swearengen has always earned the preponderance of my fucking favour. Those who disagree suck cock by choice.

Phenomenal show... and if you're lucky enough to watch it in HD, the scenery is breathtaking.

Did you guys know there's books? HBO based the series off the Song of Fire of Ice series by George R.R. Martin... I've started reading.. .the first book is The Games of Thrones or something very close to the TV show title... it's also, for about 50 pages, very similar to HBO's show... so they stuck with the novel, it seems... which they really didn't do much at all in True Blood (so I hear, haven't read the novels yet).

I know this is a different topic, but for you guys who like the period set in which these shows take place... The Tudors, The Borgias, BBC's Robinhood, and Camelot are all great shows to check out as well.

and yes, Deadwood is stellar... where's those 2 closing movies HBO was talking about making? Cocksuckers...

Wilf789, out of all of the fucking prose that flowed from the fucking pens of the cocksuckers who fucking authored the dramas that fucked with my fucking head and stole my fucking soul, that recitation of the fucking wisdom of the cocksucker Swearengen has always earned the preponderance of my fucking favour. Those who disagree suck cock by choice.

Doesn't have any major spoilers so don't worry if you haven't read the books. After watching the series myself I couldn't wait for the next one so I've just spent the last month or two listening to the audiobooks of each one and am just about to finish the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons. Cannot wait for the later books to get produced for TV - it gets better and better!

He talks in the interview about budgetary decisions affecting TV - which is interesting particularly with some of the battles to come.
He also addresses the issue of his female characters and his feminist critics which is interesting too - The way women are treated in the book can be pretty brutal, but the same is true of the men.

The real reason I'm re-posting here though is because of a eureka moment I had last night while puffing away on my SSV listening to the audiobooks (so, so good by the way, and something much harder to do if you're physically reading! Even better than watching TV while vaping too as you don't even have to concentrate on looking at the screen.)

These will only make sense to those who have read the books but I thought in honour of GRRM I will name my next glass piece: A Bong of Ice and Fire - which obviously fits perfectly for ice-catcher pieces!

I googled it though and of course discovered I'm not the first to think of that name. Other good ones include: Bongclaw (The Bastard Bong of the Night's Watch), Aegon the Bongquerer, Tormund Giantsbong... The list is endless!

There's been other good ones for sure and there's some decent shows out now, but since the demise of braking bad the only series that I really look forward to seeing anymore is game of thrones. Homeland is okay and spartacus was badass, but hurry up springtime because winter is coming!